Dear !*TITLE*! !*LASTNAME*!,
The 17th edition of the Foreign Chambers Business Survey is running. It will be interesting to see if the results show that the foreign companies in Japan are getting a even more optimistic on the state of the economy and their own business than in the previous survey done in November 2009. If you represent a Finnish affiliated company and have not yet participated in the survey, click image at right to go to the survey.
Also this time we will organize a joint chambers luncheon (on Thursday, 13 May) to present the results, and perhaps even more interestingly, to get an analysis and commentary of the survey findings from Richard Jerram, Head of Asian Economics for Macquarie Capital Securities. Please read more about the survey and the presentation luncheon below.
Some notes for your calendar; we will have a luncheon meeting on Thursday, 20 May where the themes are The Finnish Institute in Japan and HIRAMEKI Design X Finland exhibition. The last luncheon before summer break will be on Tuesday, 22 June when we have Takehiko Tanaka, Author of the book "How to get home from work at 6 - the Finnish style of working" as our guest speaker. More about these in my coming bulletins.
This week we also have a new contribution from the Japan veteran in Finnish business and paper salesman on Aoyama dori in the column "Aoyama View" at our web site. This time the column titled "Roll up your sleeves....oh, I can see they're up already!".
Click banner at right to read the column!

Report from the SCCJ-FCCJ Golf Challenge on Friday, 16 April FCCJ retains the the Stora Enso Cup!

From left: Sakari Romu (FCCJ Board Member and best gross), Tuomo Kuuppo (Stora Enso Japan) and Kimio Hashida (FCCJ Board of Trustees member and best net).

The 16th Stora Enso Cup, the golf challenge between the Swedish and Finnish Chamber's was played on Friday, 16 April at Taiheiyo Club - Narita Course in Chiba Prefecture. Despite very cold weather and some rain, the competitors enjoyed the friendly game.
27 players participated in the competition (13 from FCCJ , 14 from SCCJ, including one guest.
The Finnish Chamber came on top now for the fourth time in a row, this time beating the Swedish Chamber by a fairly large margin, 4.7 strokes on average per player, 79.0 versus 83.7 as average for the best 80% in each team. This was the eigth time the FCCJ won, but the tams are now "all square" as the SCCJ has also eight victories.
For more about the event, click links at right!

Thursday, 13 May - Joint Foreign Chamber LuncheonFCIJ Business Confidence Survey Presentation with Richard Jerram
Join us to see the results of the most recent Business Confidence Survey (Spring 2010) conducted by the Foreign Chambers in Japan (FCIJ). After lunch we are delighted to present Richard Jerram who will give us his analysis and commentary on the results.
Richard Jerram is Head of Asian Economics for Macquarie Capital Securities. He has been analysing the region for more than two decades, with a specialisation on Japan, initially in Tokyo during the late 1980s bubble, followed by a period working and studying for a doctorate in London, then returning to Japan in 1996.
Richard has a BSc from University College London and an MSc and PhD from the London School of Economics. He is also a CFA charter holder.
See details below.

Members: 6,500 yen, others: 8,000 yen, including the full survey report (collected at the door)

Registration:

by Friday, 7 May

About the Survey
The Foreign Chambers in Japan (FCIJ) Business Confidence Survey has become a widely accepted bi-annual barometer for the sentiments of foreign business leaders in Japan, their views on the Japanese economy, and their own business performance.
Since the survey's inception in the Spring of 2002, the results (published at http://www.fcc.or.jp/fcij/bcs.html) have been a valuable tool not only for chambers and related embassies to assess the business climate, but also for the business and research community at large.

Saturday, 15 MayEU Japan Friendship Week Golf Tournament
This competition forms part of the EU-Japan Friendship Week Calendar. EU-Japan Friendship Week is an integrated series of sporting, cultural and academic events that is held annually during the month of May. Friendship Week aims to mix fun and friendly exchanges with information, and endeavours to give Japanese people a chance to learn more about the European Union through various informal contacts.

Tursday, 27 - Friday, 28 MayXV International Sauna Congress in Tokyo
The XV International Sauna Congress will be held in May 27-28, 2010 in Tokyo.
The congress venue is Tokyo Dome Hotel. For more information go to the Sauna Society page at:
http://www.sauna.fi/iss.html or click links below for program in English and a porter in Japanese.
To register, please send and e-mail to jimukyoku@sauna.or.jp, Mr. Wakabayshi.
Congress fee: 20.000 yen.

Saturday, 5 JuneMidsummer Party in Finland Village
The traditional Midsummer Party at Finland Village in Koumi-machi, Nagano prefecture, will this year be held on Saturday, 5 June. The party features a lot of entertainment, good food and drinks and the best and lagest "kokko" (bonfire) in all of Asia! Click here images from last year's party.
If you (this is a family event) are interested to participate, please mark this in your calendar and contact me if you need more information.
Note: Even if your company is not a shareholder in Finland Village, as a member of FCCJ you could "test-use" the village at shareholder fees at any time. There are still vacancies for Golden Week, click here for resevations.

News from FinlandFinnish government prepares for weeks of flight misery
Finland's government is preparing for weeks of disruptions in air traffic but is confident that no threats to the citizens' safety are on the horizon, Matti Vanhanen (centre), Finland's prime minister, said at a news conference in Helsinki on Monday.
The prime minister assured reporters that for example medicines would not run out. "We have good existing reserve supplies so this is not a threat," Mr Vanhanen said.
Finland's National Emergency Supply Agency is investigating what would happen if the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland remained above northern Europe for several weeks. However, nobody knows for how long the ash will cause problems, Mr Vanhanen added.
Ash cloud affects 100,000 Finnair passengers
The volcanic eruption in Iceland that grounded air traffic in Europe has affected 100,000 passengers of Finnish flag carrier Finnair, the company said in a statement Monday.
Mika Vehvilainen, Finnair's managing director, promised that customers would not be left in trouble. However, Finnair was still unwilling to pay compensations for passengers who have suffered from flight cancellations.
According to Mr Vehvilainen, the ash cloud is causing two million euros in daily losses for Finnair, but the company would be able to sustain this.

Grin of the WeekFunny signs
Normally I don't make fun of problems to get the English right on signboards in Japan, but this was too good to pass.... Found at a rather famous establishment in Tokyo. Unless they correct it, you might see it on 3 December. Check how come in our event list...;-)

Probably made with some machine translation software. Might be advisable to have some with at least basic English knowledge to check before making a sign...

If you have any comments, rumors,
gossip or inside information, send it to: fccj@gol.com

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN
This bulletin is
published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and
distributed to over 650 recipients among its members and related
organizations. FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and
economic exchange between Japan and Finland and has today 62 corporate
members, 16 individual and one special member.